IDF Strikes Hamas Commander at Gaza Hospital, Cites Hostage Detention

Good Morning, Israel · Friday, November 13, 2026 · 7:47

Good Morning, Israel · Episode 47

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1. IDF Strikes Hamas Commander at Gaza Hospital, Cites Hostage Detention
2. President Herzog Mediated Early Talks for Netanyahu-Eisenkot Security Meeting
3. Netanyahu Trial Judges Order Attorney General to Court
4. France Bars Israeli Settler Leader Yossi Dagan Over West Bank Activity
5. US Military Warns Israel of Potential War Resumption
6. Arkia Airline Sold to Investor Group Amid Employee Concerns

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Maya

Israel says the man it targeted at a Gaza hospital was one of the Hamas commanders holding Israeli hostages.

Daniel

And in Washington, the President and his own generals seem to be saying different things about Iran.

Maya

This is Good Morning, Israel from baba News. It's Friday, November thirteenth. I'm Maya.

Daniel

And I'm Daniel.

Maya

Let's start in Gaza. The I D F carried out a strike at Nasser Hospital. Who was the target?

Daniel

A Hamas commander named Muhammad Abu Ismail. According to the I D F, he was responsible for holding Israeli hostages.

Maya

Why a hospital?

Daniel

Because, according to the I D F and the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency, the terrorist organization Hamas was using that hospital as a military command center. They say dozens of hostages were held there.

Maya

Dozens of hostages, inside a hospital.

Daniel

That's Israel's assessment, yes. It's the pattern Israel has described throughout the war, Hamas building its operations inside civilian sites.

Maya

And casualties?

Daniel

The Gaza Health Ministry says six people were killed and twenty-eight injured. Israel says precautions were taken to avoid harming civilians.

Maya

Hamas, predictably, condemned it.

Daniel

It did. But Israel's position is that the people who turned a hospital into a place to hold hostages are the ones responsible for what happens there.

Maya

Now to Iran, which is really three stories this morning that keep running into each other.

Daniel

Right, and the first one is in Jerusalem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat down with Gadi Eisenkot for a security meeting.

Maya

Eisenkot being the former army chief who currently holds the mandate to form a government.

Daniel

Exactly. The meeting ran about two hours, and the Prime Minister's Military Secretary was in the room too.

Maya

How did it come about? These two weren't exactly on speaking terms this week.

Daniel

Eisenkot wrote to Netanyahu urging caution. And there are reports that President Isaac Herzog helped mediate the early contacts.

Maya

Reports, but?

Daniel

The President's office denies any involvement. So that part's disputed.

Maya

We told you yesterday about Defense Minister Israel Katz and Avigdor Lieberman fighting over who can order military action. Where does this fit?

Daniel

Right in the middle of it. The meeting came ahead of a cabinet meeting on whether a transitional government can authorize a new military campaign.

Maya

So the question that was a public argument on Thursday is now on the cabinet's agenda.

Daniel

Exactly. And it's not happening in a vacuum, which brings us to the second piece.

Maya

The Americans.

Daniel

U S Central Command, the part of the American military that covers the Middle East, has warned Israel and the Gulf countries, through military channels, to prepare for a possible resumption of war.

Maya

Wait, didn't President Trump just say there's no need for a new campaign against Iran?

Daniel

He did. That's what makes this striking. The warning cuts against his public statements.

Maya

And what are they actually moving?

Daniel

The U S is building up its forces in the region. Two aircraft carriers are deployed, and a third is on the way.

Maya

Three carriers is not what you send when you think things are calming down.

Daniel

No. And then piece three, Trump himself.

Maya

The social media post.

Daniel

Right. There'd been a report that Vice President J D Vance was considering direct talks with an Iranian official. Oil prices fell on that.

Maya

Markets like the sound of talking.

Daniel

They do. Then Trump posted that the U S doesn't need a deal with Iran, and said he'd instructed Vance to stop the negotiations.

Maya

And the markets turned around.

Daniel

Sharply. Oil prices surged, and the dollar rose against the Israeli shekel.

Maya

So no talks, no new campaign, and the generals preparing anyway.

Daniel

That's the contradiction Israel has to plan around. And the timing matters. This came after big Republican losses in the U S midterm elections, which some attributed to Iran policy.

Maya

So American domestic politics might be shaping what happens over Israel's skies.

Daniel

That's the worry, yes. And Israel's caretaker government is trying to settle its own rules on war at the same moment.

Maya

To the courts. Prime Minister Netanyahu's corruption trial has a new twist.

Daniel

The Jerusalem District Court has ordered Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to appear in court next Wednesday.

Maya

The Attorney General herself. That's unusual.

Daniel

It is. It follows testimony from her predecessor, former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, who raised concerns about how the investigation and the indictment were handled.

Maya

And the judges have been signaling something for a while.

Daniel

Right. They've twice recommended dropping the bribery charge in what's known as Case four thousand, one of the cases against Netanyahu.

Maya

And the prosecution's answer?

Daniel

There hasn't been one. The proposal hasn't been addressed. So summoning the Attorney General looks like the court losing patience.

Maya

And Netanyahu's position hasn't changed.

Daniel

He denies all the charges against him.

Maya

To Europe. France has barred a senior Israeli official from entering.

Daniel

Yossi Dagan, head of the Shomron Regional Council. That's the local council for Israeli communities in Samaria, in the West Bank.

Maya

On what grounds?

Daniel

The French Foreign Ministry pointed to his role in settlement policy, which France claims is contrary to international law. And France has barred other Israeli officials and community leaders before.

Maya

And Israel's response?

Daniel

Israel condemned the decision as unacceptable and politically motivated. It says it will demand an explanation from Paris, and is considering how to respond.

Maya

Quick round. Arkia, the airline, has been sold.

Daniel

Arkia is Israel's third-largest airline. Its controlling owners, the Nakash brothers, agreed to sell it to a group of investors for tens of millions of dollars.

Maya

And the staff aren't celebrating.

Daniel

No. Employees are worried about job security and about their own stake being diluted, and they've declared a labor dispute.

Maya

Which matters more than usual right now.

Daniel

Right. With many foreign airlines staying away during the war, Arkia has been one of the carriers keeping Israel connected to the world. The new investors say they want to stabilize it.

Maya

The E U. A petition against Israel has crossed a million signatures.

Daniel

Just over one point one million. It was launched by a coalition of European left-wing parties, and it demands suspending the E U Israel Association Agreement, the framework for trade and cooperation.

Maya

And the accusations behind it?

Daniel

Harsh claims about Israel's conduct in Gaza. Those are the organizers' claims. The European Commission now has to meet them and hold a public hearing, with a final answer due by May twenty twenty-seven.

Maya

Should Israelis worry?

Daniel

The E U is Israel's largest trading partner, so it's worth watching. But member states are divided, and major policy changes are considered unlikely.

Maya

And finally, opposition leader Yair Lapid.

Daniel

Lapid pledged to form a new government, and admitted it'll take painful compromises, maybe shelving some promises.

Maya

Any lessons learned along the way?

Daniel

He says he learned one from Netanyahu himself. Form the government first, improve it later.

Maya

Taking notes from your rival. Very Friday the thirteenth.

Daniel

And he says he has full confidence in his partnership with Naftali Bennett, the former Prime Minister.

Maya

So, one thing to watch. The cabinet meeting on whether a caretaker government can authorize a new military campaign. Whatever it decides shapes Israel's options on Iran.

Daniel

Follow Good Morning, Israel so tomorrow's episode is waiting for you.

Maya

See you tomorrow morning.